Mayor Elorza Launches Street Light Conversion Initiative

“This innovative project has the potential to save the City of Providence $3 million each year while decreasing the amount of energy used to provide a critical city service,” said Mayor Elorza. “My administration is committed to providing the most efficient, environmentally friendly, and cost effective service to constituents, and I thank PRISM for their involvement in the process and their dedication to assisting municipalities realize savings throughout Rhode Island.”

The City of Providence recently purchased over 16,000 street lights from National Grid. Starting today, each of those street lights will be fitted with a new LED cobra head light fixture and control system. These new control systems will allow the city’s street lights to form a network for remote control of each light. New lights have self-reporting abilities, sending a signal when there maintenance is needed or in case of outage. Each light can be brightened or dimmed remotely to enhance and increase public safety.

The total saving from the new LED lights is estimated at $3 million dollars per year and conversion is set to be completed by September 2016, making Providence the largest municipality in Rhode Island to be lit by LED lighting.